Syracuse Linux Users Group

What is Linux? And is it for Me?

by James R. Williams Zavada

1. Introduction

Early in 1994, I had my first contact with Linux. I was taking some
programming courses at SUNY Oswego, and terminal/modem access was at a
premium back then, so I began looking for a way to do my assignments
"offline" on my own machine. Of the low-cost/free Unix for PC projects
then available, Linux appeared to be the most promising. Via my school
shell account, I used a 1200bps modem to download Slackware's base
diskettes to run on a borrowed 386 motherboard. After the initial
installation, I was hooked. Late in 1995, I set up a Linux-based server/workstation
with which to connect to the Internet. Within months, I was allowing others
to login via modem to my system to access Internet e-mail (with my ISP's permission).
Soon thereafter, I created a growing network, so I could hack on my own work station without
affecting my users. This was the beginning of my experience with Linux.
As a result this personal experiment with the then new OS, I've had the fortune of learning a great deal
about Unix in general, and Linux in particular. I hope each of you finds Linux
as useful and fun as I have.

2. What is Linux? And What is a Distribution?

Linux is a clone of the Unix operating system. Unix was created in the early
1970s at AT&T Bell Labs as a programmer-friendly, multi-user operating system.
The creators of Unix had in mind a few ideas about what was needed in an ideal operating
system, and these ideas grew to become what is nowadays commonly called "The Unix
Philosophy": Programs should do one thing, and do it well. Programs should work
together. All input and output should be accessible as a stream of bytes from a file.

Because many Unix utility programs followed these tenets, the OS's users were
able to be amazingly productive, by fitting several simple tools together to
create larger and more powerful tools. Thus Unix grew in popularity among
programmers. And because programmers liked it, they began to create applications
thereon, which began moving the OS into end-user arena.

The Unix philosphy made it easy to extend and configure the capabilities of the
operating system, and it rapidly grew to fit the changing computer needs of society.
In fact, a great deal of the Internet was founded, and still runs on Unix.
Additionally, it was extended to include Graphical User Interfaces. Because it is
easy to build on, and because of it's simple but effective design, Unix is able to
provide much more power while using significantly less resources than other OSes.
For example,
today you can run many types of Unix (Linux, FreeBSD, etc.) alongside Windows
on the same class of hardware (same processor speed, same memory, same model of
hard drive, etc.), and you will find Unix to be notably faster

Unix's clear advantages led to a desire to use it on microcomputers, and in the
late 1980s and early 1990s, many were making efforts to recreate it on the most common
microcomputer platform of the day, Intel's x86. One of these was a Finnish university
student name Linus Torvalds. In 1991, he wanted to use the Unix operating system on his
own PC. Dissatisfied with what was currently available,
Linus started working on the
core of the Linux operating system, its kernel. (For you DOS hackers out there,
the Linux kernel equates to MS-DOS's IO.SYS and MSDOS.SYS) He combined
this with GNU software's clone of the Unix system utilities developed by the Free
Software
Foundation. As he did this, he invited open participation by others on the
Internet. It is this collaboration that made Linux the fastest-growing, most
adaptable and freely available operating system available today.

Originally Linux, that is, the kernel, plus the system utilities, were only
available as separate pieces. To use Linux, you had to visit a number of
different FTP sites to download the pieces, then put them together yourself.
This was often a process that only dedicated computer geeks (called hackers)
could accomplish, and only with difficulty. Soon thereafter, someone came up
with the idea of putting together all the pieces into a single, pre-assembled,
ready-to-install, and easy-to-distribute package. The first such package, or
distribution was called SLS, or Soft-landing Linux System.

As Linux caught on, others created their own ideal distributions, and CDROM
vendors started to make the distributions available on CDs. Because Linux had a
growing reputation for solidity and stability, and because it was growing so
rapidly in popularity, it had tremendous commercial potential. Certain
visionaries, the founders of RedHat, for example, started companies to create
and support commercial distributions of Linux. Other distributions which started
as non-commercial enterprises, now have commercial versions (i.e. Slackware).
Many of the modern distributions, recognising that a growing number of Linux
users were not computer geeks but ordinary business and home users, began
to include corresponding applications as part of their distributions (word
processors, spreadsheets, games, multimedia utilities, etc.). Currently, many
distributions are aiming toward non-technical users, and are evolving to compete
with the growing number of dissatisfied Microsoft Windows users that are looking
for easy-to-use alternatives.

3. Why Should I Use Linux?

There are a great number of reasons why someone would want to use Linux, but
before I detail them, I want to stress the most important reason why you should
NOT use Linux: Do not use Linux because someone says you should (unless that
someone happens to be your boss 8^). If someone insists that you use Linux,
ask them if they are willing to give you free and unlimited technical support.
If they're not willing, tell them to get lost! Honestly, I'm aiming this more at
you Linux enthusiasts who insist on spreading the "Linux gospel". Don't try to
make converts unless you are willing to support them.

Now, here is my "Top-ten" list of the reasons to consider using Linux:

You need a stable computing platform from which to run

You need a highly adaptible and networkable computer system that plays
well with other systems.

You need a system that allows you to tweak it to suite your needs.

You need a quality, low-cost Unix environment.

You need a system that packs a big bang for the buck.

You have a bunch of obsolete, but still serviceable x386 and above
computers you'd rather use than throw away.

You want a useful, well-rounded computer system, but you only have
a shoe-string budget to work with.

You are a computer-savvy user who is tired of dealing with Microsoft's
mediocre operating systems.

You are a home- or business-computer user who wants an alternative to
Microsoft, and you have access to Linux technical support.

You are a techno-geek computer hacker who can't resist.

Naturally there are many more reasons than I've outlined, but that should
give you some food for thought.

4. Which Distribution Should I Use?

If you decide to use Linux, your next question is likely to be, "Which
distribution should I use?" This is an honest question that deserves an honest
answer, so unlike most people, I'm not going to tell you! Instead I'm going to
recommend that you do take the following steps, which will give you the tools
you need to decide for yourself which distribution you need, and what you can
do if none of the distributions has everything you need.

What do you want to use your computer for? Make the answer to this
question into a list.

Determine which distribution best fulfills all the requirements on your
list. (Visit distribution vendor websites or make phone calls, your
choice.)

If none of the distributions meet all of your needs, see if you can buy
separate software packages to fill the gaps. (Visit Linux software vendor
websites or make phone calls, again your choice.)

If there are no commercial software packages that fill the gaps, ask your
nearest Linux guru or your local Linux user group, if they can help you
find a free software alternative. (Or, if you are web-savvy, do your own
web search.)

If there are no free software alternatives that meet your needs, consider
creating your own, or paying someone to create one for you. Again, turn
to your nearest guru or user group to point you in the right direction.

If, after taking all the steps above, or if the penultimate step is not
within your reach, Linux is not what you need right now, please continue
using your current computing environment.

5. Conclusion

I hope that this has given you a better understanding of what Linux is and why
you might or might not want to use it. If you decide to use it, I welcome you
to a brave and wonderful new world!